Barcelona and the goal problem: Xavi’s men need nine shots to score a goal | Football | Sports

“We must be one of the worst teams in Europe in terms of effectiveness,” Xavi Hernandez said at the end of the draw against Valencia last Saturday. The Barcelona coach was right. The Blaugrana welcome Almeria to Montjuïc (7:00pm; Movistar LaLiga), with a gray cloud hovering above: no goal. The team scores only one goal from every 8.87 shots, and is the second among the top five leagues to miss the most shots – the only…

“We must be one of the worst teams in Europe in terms of effectiveness,” Xavi Hernandez said at the end of the draw against Valencia last Saturday. The Barcelona coach was right. The Blaugrana welcome Almeria to Montjuïc (7:00pm; Movistar LaLiga), with a gray cloud hovering above: no goal. The team scores just one goal from every 8.87 shots, and is the second most missed in the Big Five leagues – at just 11.27%. Only Napoli surpasses them by 9.96%, and coincidence decided the confrontation between the two teams in the round of 16 of the Champions League.

Almeria coach Gaizka Garitano said yesterday: “Anything other than winning the league or the Champions League is a bad moment for them, but that is not true.” However, he stressed that Barcelona “depends on how successful it is.” “We have to try to redirect the situation. It is not a privilege, but it can be overcome,” Xavi said before the match against the Andalusian team. Meanwhile, Pedri’s cross continues. The club explained that the Canaries will be out against the bottom team, as well as in the friendly match against America in Dallas on Friday the 22nd, due to “a knock in training that caused a small muscle injury.”

The truth is that the road has not been pleasant: 31 goals in 275 shots in the league, in addition to 19 own goals. “We lack confidence in scoring,” the Barcelona coach admitted. He said in his statements after the match in Valencia: “It is not limited to the attackers’ mistakes alone.” “It’s the same thing that happens to Rafinha, Ferran, Joao or the defence,” Xavi said.

Neither Louis nor the others

Robert Lewandowski has found the back of the net nine times, only three of them since September. An average of 0.53 goals per match. A long way from the number 30 last season, when he was by this point aged 17, and the world record of 50 he scored every year at Bayern Munich. The pole is not going through its best moments, but the numbers of the rest of the players do not call for optimism. The other three first-team strikers, Ferran Torres (six), Rafinha (two) and Joao Felix (six), do not surpass him in the number of goals.

The wind is also not blowing in favor of Barcelona’s midfield and defense: only Ilkay Gundogan (two goals) and Joao Cancelo (three) have scored more than one goal – and both have penetrated the opponent’s goal on two occasions. Neither Araujo nor Kounde, on the right side, nor Gavi, Pedri, Sergi Roberto, Frenkie de Jong or Fermin Lopez, in midfield. No one finds purpose regularly. The only time Pedri scored a goal was on the second day of the league against Cádiz. Since then, injuries and a return to the field of play. But there is no goal. Jaffe, now seriously injured, went three months without scoring, from August until his collapse in mid-November, despite contributing mischief. The list is much too long. The target score is very short. Oriol Romeu, four months and eighteen games after his departure from the now successful Montilivi, had not even made his debut. In the last 16 matches, Barcelona has not been able to score more than two goals in any match.

Convince and without De Jong

Xavi analyzed: “We have nine points less than last year at the end of the first round, and this is due to effectiveness and lack of strength in our region.” An opinion shared by Garitano: “The biggest difference between Barcelona last season and this season is defensive solidity.” “You have to try to cause damage at the top,” admitted the coach of bottom club Almeria. For his part, Xavi lowered his head. He concluded: “We certainly did things wrong.”

Barcelona needs the three points to continue clinging to the league train led by Girona and Real Madrid. But also to persuade and persuade, as Xavi admitted. The same thing happens with Almeria, which has not yet achieved any victory in the tournament. Barcelona will have to do this without De Jong, who will miss the match due to the accumulation of cards. Garitano commented: “He is the player who has the best capabilities to move the ball and we will try to take advantage of him courageously.” The Almeria coach admitted: “The coach who does not win is always vulnerable to being fired.”

Xavi: “Training here can be very annoying”

“Sometimes, I don’t feel grateful to be Barcelona’s coach, it can be very annoying and I’ve already faced that as a player. I try to put the criticism in perspective and I believe a lot in what we do,” Xavi said in a press conference before welcoming Almeria. (Girona and Royal Antwerp) and a draw (Valencia). Barcelona’s victory over the bottom team (five points) seems non-negotiable.

Kohli’s coach described his team’s moment as “uncomfortable, but recoverable.” “We do not have to fail. What affects us are our mistakes and the points we left behind and we have to finish the first round well and have a better second round. Regarding the winter market, Xavi confirmed that if all goes well, Vitor Roque will join for the holidays. Although He asked to relieve the pressure.

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